Author Archives: Cary

Happy Birthday Ronnie!

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Our favorite hotel ambassador, Mr. Ronnie Jenkins is 54 today. (Can you believe it?)

Let’s sing my favorite birthday song in his honor: Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday To Ya”:

You know it doesn’t
make much sense
There ought to be a law against
Anyone who takes offense
At a day in your celebration
‘Cause we all know in our minds
That there ought to be a time
That we can set aside
To show just how much we love you
And I’m sure you will agree
It couldn’t fit more perfectly
Than to have a world
party on the day you
came to be

Chorus:
Happy birthday to ya
Happy birthday to ya
Happy birthday to ya
Repeat

I just never understood
How a man who died for good
Could not have a day that would
Be set aside for his recognition
Because it should never be
Just because some cannot see
The dream as clear as he
That they should make it
become an illusion
And we all know everything
That he stood for time will bring
For in peace our hearts will sing
Thanks to Martin Luther King Jr.

Chorus:
Happy birthday to ya
Happy birthday to ya
Happy birthday to ya
(Repeat)

Why has there never been a holiday
Where peace is celebrated
all throughout the world

The time is overdue
For people like me and you know the way to truth
Is love and unity to
all God’s children
It should be a great event
And the whole day should be spent
In full remembrance
Of those who lived and
died for the oneness
of
all people
So let us all begin
We know that love can win
Let it out don’t hold it in
Sing it loud as you can

Chorus x4:
Happy birthday to ya
Happy birthday to ya
Happy birthday to ya ooohh

Background Stevie
Happy birthday Ooh yeah
Happy birthday,
To you yea

We know the key to unity of all
People
Is in the dream that you had so
Long ago
That lives in all of the hearts
Of people
That believe in unity
We’ll make the dream become
A reality
I know we will
Because our hearts tell us so….

Better yet….listen to Stevie himself sing it here.

Here’s to 54 more, Ronnie!

 

 

The Spring Menu Is Here

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Chef Yoel Cruz brings us lighter fare featuring delicious seasonal produce like carrots, spring onions and radishes.

Check out these appetizers:

Grilled marinated shrimp with lemon orzo, roasted tomato and saffron broth.

Shrimp!

A spring barley risotto with pearl barley (not Bailey–sorry, couldn’t resist), carrots, fresh green peas, fennel and spring onions, ricotta and parmesan cheeses and fresh basil.

New dinner apps feature the additions of an organic kale salad with organic gala apples, roasted baby carrots and manchego cheese, toasted almond and buttermilk dressing.  Plus a seafood salad with shrimp, scallops, grilled calamari, New Zealand mussels, Boston lettuce, radishes, red onion, meyer lemon vinaigrette.

There are a few new entrees at dinner:

Roasted lobster with creamed corn, shiitake mushrooms, escarole and shellfish chili broth.  Another dish from the sea is pan-seared halibut with roasted tomato and eggplant, amaranth (a super-healthy, gluten-free grain) and a mustard cream sauce.

Meat eaters like me are looking forward to the braised short ribs with wild rice, ancho chili sauce and a spring vegetable timbale.

Finally, there’s a grilled pork ribeye with fingerling potatoes with ladrons, morels, fresh peas and spring onions with a shallot au jus.

Pork and Peas, please!

Welcome to spring, everyone. I’ll update you on what’s happening with the rooftop garden shortly!

Have a great weekend!

 

 

What’s Going On, Ronnie?

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Mr. Jenkins had two words for me today when I posed this question. Street. Fairs. (Okay, he didn’t actually say it like that, but I’m a blogger–I love drama.) According to Ronnie, ’tis the official season of tube socks, crepes, Mexican street corn, bonsai plants and cheapo sheets. Here’s a rundown of some of the better ones:

Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair: Tied in with the film festival, this fair runs 10 am to 6 pm next Saturday (4/27) on Greenwich between Chambers and Hubert. Kite flying, live chef demonstrations, life-size bubbles in a Bubble Garden, dancing, live music and noshes. Lots of noshes.

Brooklyn Flea: Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt in Fort Greene, Brooklyn on Saturdays and on East River State Park at N. 7 St. in Williamsburg on Sundays (10 am to 5 pm). Vendors sell everything from Indian crafts to bicycle paintings to birdhouse jewelry. The food alone is worth heading down to the BK: Dough Donuts, Handsome Hank’s Fish Hut and Maria’s Tacos are ready and waiting for you to chow down.

Hester Street Fair: Every Sunday from 10-6 throughout the summer on the corner of Hester and Essex. Vendors include handmade soaps by Filthy Farmgirl (I need them. Now.) to beautiful ceramics and jewelry. And yes…good food (s’mores!)

Crafts on Columbus: Columbus Ave. from 77th to 81st streets. Operates the next few weekends (4/27-28, 5/4-5, 5/11-12). Fantastic jewelry, blown glass, sculpture, clothing, quilts and children’s toys. A block away from the American Museum of Natural History.

Spring has definitely sprung.

 

 

Happy Earth Day!

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A few quotes relative to Earth Day gathered from Goodreads. (If you’re not familiar with it, Goodreads is a sort of virtual book club, in which you rate books you’ve read and get recommendations from your pals. If you’re an avid reader, you truly need this!) Here we go:

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”
― Gaylord Nelson

“I had assumed that the Earth, the spirit of the Earth, noticed exceptions — those who wantonly damage it and those who do not. But the Earth is wise. It has given itself into the keeping of all, and all are therefore accountable.”
― Alice Walker

“It’s Earth day I wonder if we can plant more trees than people for a change?”
― Stanley Victor Paskavich

Let’s take care of the planet today and every day. Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Free Advice Girl Is Back!

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Frisbee-tossing students, performance artists and cherry blossoms aren’t the only things that herald spring in Washington Square Park. Add to that list the return of the Free Advice Girl.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with her, Lisa Podell settles herself on a bench next to her “Free Advice” sign for a few hours every other day and lends an ear–and non-judgmental wisdom when requested. And from the looks of her Facebook page, this Dear Abby in a tank top and flip flops seems to help an awful lot of people. (Sometimes just having an impartial ear listen helps a ton, doesn’t it?)

On Lisa’s website, she describes her services as such:

“What if there were an opportunity to offer and/or receive free advice in public spaces throughout New York City, or even better, in a neighborhood near you? Imagine the possibilities when people break down their barriers to hold authentic, positive conversations with other people they would have otherwise passed by.

The second component is to help people see an additional point of view. Many of us fixate on a personal issue and continue to look at it from the same vantage point. Then we wonder why we’re not seeing improvement or change. This can lead to frustration and stress, which can then affect the way we connect or disconnect with others in our daily lives. To verbally explore a topic with someone whom you have no history and may never see again is quite liberating. There is no past between Free Advice Girl and the participant so it allows for a clear conversation. This is why a typical conversation often lasts just 5-10 minutes. It’s easy to see a new point of view when you’re ready to receive it and there’s no history or baggage standing in the way.”

Leave it to the good citizens of NYC to offer free therapy at no cost. Welcome back, Lisa!

Al Fresco…Chin Chin!

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So it’s a lovely 68 degrees outside. The air conditioner guys have just delivered our ACs from winter storage. (I believe this is a NYC phenomenon–the off-site storage of summer equipment in the winter months. We need to do this because we can’t fit ONE MORE THING in our apartments. We really can’t.)

To celebrate, I’m meeting a girlfriend for a cocktail in the neighborhood. Here are a few choices for an outdoor drink and perhaps a nosh:

Bar Six: (6th Avenue near 13th St.)  Laid back, great for people watching while noshing on French-Moroccan food.

Gottino: (Greenwich between Charles and Perry)  Wines by the glass, carafe or bottle. Yummy Italian snacks–crostini, formaggio, salumi, olive mista…all of the major food groups at your fingertips.

Wogie’s Bar & Grill: (Greenwich St. by Charles) Cheap drinks, Philly cheesesteaks and hot wings. Seriously unhealthy grub, but sometimes that’s what the doctor ordered.

Madame X: (West Houston by Thompson) Head to the garden outside to sip a chardonnay or down a “Born Yesterday” (Bombay gin, mango nectar, splash of sour and soda).

Sante!

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s Go To The Movies!

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The first sign of spring in Manhattan is upon us. Nope, it’s not Alex Rodriguez and his latest fling sipping cappuccino the morning after at an outdoor cafe. (Although that is sure to come soon, via the dogged investigative reporting of The New York Post.)

It’s much better: The 12th Tribeca Film Festival starts next week (4/17) and runs for eleven days.

53 features from 37 countries will be premiered and judged by 42 jurors in all, including luminaries such as Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Haggis, Bryce Dallas Howard (love her) and Evan Rachel Wood.

Highlights of the festival include Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight the follow-up to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, featuring on-screen lovers Ethan Hawke and Jule Delpy. (Yikes! They’re now middle-aged!) And hot shot directors Neil LaBute (Death at a Funeral, Nurse Betty), Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) and David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) are also contributing films to the competition.

Panel discussions will take place featuring Hawke, Delpy, Darren Aronofsky and Clint Eastwood (minus the chair, we can only hope).

Here’s a quick overview on tickets: There are various early sale dates for American Express members and downtown residents, but the general public can get single tickets on Monday starting at 11 a.m. online, by phone and through three designated outlets.

During the festival, tickets, if still available, will be on sale at all festival venue box offices. Prices are $8 for matinee and late-night screenings, $16 for evening and weekends and $25 for special talks. There are also special passes for a bunch of screenings and a $25,000 VIP pass which I can only assume means that Robert DeNiro will not only spring for dinner, but clean your apartment and buy you something pretty to boot. But that’s just me.

 

Why I Love New York (Photo Edition)

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Here’s why:

Because these two were registered marathon runners.

Because this photo was titled “Crazy racist naked guy on the 6 train.” (Almost) naked = obvious, crazy = probable, but where did they get racist from?

Because, Robert De Niro, Jon Stewart, Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Christopher Walken, Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Joan Didion, Philip Seymour Hoffman and David Bowie all live here.

Because Nora Ephron, George Gershwin, The Marx Brothers, Dorothy Parker, Maria Callas, Humphrey Bogart, Duke Ellington and Arthur Miller once did.

Because we have a street named after one of the Ramones.

Because there are around 8,000 restaurants, the majority of which are not fast food.

Because anyone can get married to whomever they love.

Because for a city, we’re awfully green. New York City has more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds, and recreation facilities across the five boroughs.

Just because…

 

Washington Square Park’s First Family

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Time to check in with the red-tailed hawks of Washington Square Park, Bobby and Rosie. The duo have nested outside NYU President John Sexton’s Office at Bobst Building in the southern perimeter of the park. And pretty soon baby will make five…three eggs were spotted in the nest!

A little family history: the hawks have been around for three years. The initial coupling was Bobby and Violet. They produced Pip, who has moved on to points unknown. After Violet fell ill and passed away in year two, Bobby was consoled by Rosie and they produced Boo and Scout, who have also left the family Village home.

You can watch the birds’ progress and if you’re lucky, witness the blessed event on the NYU Hawk Cam.